15 MPs to try gaming at Commons event

Gamers' Voice seeks to educate politicians and promote PEGI

Consumer pressure group Gamers' Voice has confirmed at least 15 MPs are due to attend its Parliamentary Games Day next week.

The House of Commons event is intended to help educate politicians about games and the games industry, as well to promote the PEGI ratings system.

Amongst those due to attend are John Whittingdale (co-chairman of the All Party Group on the Computer and Video Games Industry), culture minister Ed Vaizey, Liverpool Wavertree MP Luciana Berger and Scottish Affairs Committee chair Ian Davidson.

Said Gamers' Voice chairman Paul Gibson, "It is clear to us that some members of Parliament are clearly out of touch with the public and wrongly believe that video games are corrupting British children. The recent release of new forms of motion control make this a great time to get MPs back on board with the industry after a difficult six-month period.

"Put simply, if they won't come to us, we're taking the games to them."

The exact scale of the event (held in Portcullis House's Macmillan Room next Wednesday) remains to be seen. Labour MP Tom Watson yesterday asked the group (via Twitter), "Do MPs know about this? I didn't and I founded Gamers' voice! Why just Tories?"

Also attending will be UKIE, TIGA, BAFTA and the Video Standards Council.

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I hope this goes well. When the media gets a hold of it though, no doubt they'll try and attack the politicians with such headlines as 'Vaizey massacres hundreds with a machine gun on the streets of Liberty City.'